Ellie Caldwell

Being Church In An Unchurched World Ellie Caldwell

At The Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) program School of the Spirit (2009-11), I first heard the phrase "being church for one another." It means being present for each other, listening well, and creating a spiritual, and perhaps even unspoken, covenant with another human being and God. "Being church" resonated with me, something we can be for each other, outside a building and anywhere we run into someone we click with. Over the years, how have we literally been "church" for each other, within the walls of what is called a "sacred building"? And why has the draw of that lost its appeal? Why did it matter so much in the past and why has that faded? Something has been lost: some would say something crucial and others might say good riddance.